The cicadas are still making that dreadful noise all round. The noise is a nuisance, and by the end of summer I’ll be glad to welcome a relative silence back to the bush. And yet… I’ve grown a little fond of them too.

A couple of days ago I spotted this Floury Baker cicada in a Sydney suburb:

Its grey speckles caught my eye. At first I wondered if it was shedding its skin, but I did some research and found that cicadas don’t shed once they’ve emerged from the nymph stage of their life cycle. (I’ve written about the mysterious life of cicadas in other posts.) So I searched for “grey cicada” and found some information about Floury Bakers.

Here’s another view of the same bug, with a clearer view of its eyes (though the ends of the wings are a little blurry):

Did I mention they’re noisy? Yes! I’ve posted recordings of them in a couple of other posts.